18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 254

Jasper, who wanted to take his time and do a meticulous job, had no choice but to passively accept. "Alright, we'll cover the meals. We'll pay you a salary in provisions when the time comes. "Let's not spoil them," Austin warned, "They are under contract after all."

He called them over for a break and asked excitedly, "How do you plan to renovate the place?"

Stella shared her plans of reinforcing the outer walls, building a greenhouse on the rooftop and in the backyard to grow vegetables and raise chickens and ducks.

Austin nearly dropped his cigarette in surprise, "Everyone else is putting in swimming pools and you're planning a farm?"

"We've spent everything on this house, and we can't afford any extra luxuries," Stella said bluntly, "I can live without swimming, but I can't live without food."

Austin laughed heartily, "You've got the right idea. Growing your own food is way more practical. Once you're done, I'll take a leaf out of your book."

They were both savvy people, especially Stella. She was not one to be taken advantage of. Despite the struggles of the past three years, she was doing better than ever. So, following her lead was a no-brainer.

However, Austin was a bit hesitant about the idea of installing broken glass on top of the high walls, "Why bother? It's not enough security. I could get you some electric fencing instead."

Stella wasn't against simplifying things, but an electric fence around the entire property would require a lot of materials. After three years, those were not easy to come by.

But when it came to finding supplies, there were very few things Austin couldn't handle.

Stella smiled, "I'll leave it to you then, Austin."

and it wouldn't offer sufficient protection. They calculated the correct height and asked Austin for help, planning to barter the materials with food. Austin readily agreed, "Just

needed, except for assembling

assured, "Rob knows his stuff. He

crew was still hard at work, Stella decided to start cooking, "I'll whip up something for dinner.

tasted her cooking before, Austin was looking forward to it. He rolled up his sleeves

Rosie and Cooper assisting. The meal was simple: sweet potato and rice, dried beans with bacon, dried radishes with pork belly, dried cabbage salad, and a large pot of sweet potato leaves. Despite the simplicity of the

others brought their own bowls and forks. They were blunt peasants with no sense of etiquette. They would scoop up a good amount of rice, grab a bunch of vegetables, and crouch down on the ground to eat. "Mmm, the food

for. They could not afford to eat till they were full at every meal. The food cooked by Stella was wondrously aromatic. In comparison, his wife's cooking, on the other hand, tasted worse than

food, but he could not

you've struck gold with Stella," Austin

agreed, "Indeed, I must've done something right in my

hard work done for the day, the crew packed up

Their efficiency astounded Stella and Jasper,

three-meter-high walls were up

layer of cement mortar, a layer of mixed mortar, and a layer of white mortar for the surface. Each layer had to be thicker than the last, with the main aim

he latched onto Austin's coattails and became a middleman. He wasn't living in luxury, but compared to most survivors, he was doing quite well. So, here he was, going back to his old trade with

gesturing at Austin, "Boss, you're not applying the

didn't rush to respond. Instead, he hit the back of Shawn's head with a trowel, "Are you

immediately backed down, "No, no, no, I wouldn't dare! Boss, take a break and have some water. I'll

tool, "Everyone needs to commit fully. If I catch anyone slacking off, there'll

materials from outside. "Where did you get all these?" Even Austin was envious, "Can you help us source some so we can finish renovating the villa area? We'll split the profits." Stella laughed, "Austin, don't joke. It took us over six months to find all these materials. If it were